Indians fall short of title

The Dakota volleyball team has had the experience of dropping the opening set in a match this postseason and yet finding a way to come back and prevail.

By Adam J. Kradle

Journal Standard

By Adam J. Kradle

Posted Nov. 11, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 11, 2012 at 10:04 AM

By Adam J. Kradle

Posted Nov. 11, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 11, 2012 at 10:04 AM

Normal, Ill.

The Dakota volleyball team has had the experience of dropping the opening set in a match this postseason and yet finding a way to come back and prevail.

The Indians looked as though they’d have a chance to do it again in Saturday’s Class 2A state championship match against Deer Creek-Mackinaw, but their rally was halted by the Chiefs.

Dakota couldn’t hold off a second set comeback by Dee-Mack, and fell short of a second straight state title in a 25-23, 25-21 loss.

“I definitely don’t feel like we played our best game today,” Dakota coach Shannon Williams said. “We played a very talented team. They were ready to go. It’s just too bad we didn’t come out on top today.”

After dropping a very competitive opening set, the Indians got off to a strong start in the second and established early control. But little by little, Dee-Mack fought back.

“They’re used to being down and they know what it takes to come back,” first-year Dee-Mack coach Mike Bolhuis said of his team. “It’s really just being patient and knowing that we can play better volleyball than what we were showing.”

The Indians were doing seemingly everything in their power to hold off the Chiefs.

But Dakota’s usually strong offensive attack led by Sarah Thompson (match-high 16 kills) was often held in check by Dee-Mack’s equally strong defensive play, and any time the Indians made an error, it proved quite costly.

“They capitalized on every single one of our mistakes,” Dakota junior Cora Fiene said. “Every missed serve we had, they got another little run out of it.”

After having their lead cut to 13-12, the Indians built it back out to four as late as 19-15 before Dee-Mack really made its charge by doing everything right.

“They were putting a triple block up against Sarah at times,” Williams said. “They were slowing our hitters down. They were digging a lot of balls and they were being aggressive.

“They were putting the ball away, our defense wasn’t in the right position. We weren’t handling the ball. We weren’t bettering the balls to put them in position to get them out of system.”

The Chiefs closed out the match with a 10-2 run that stopped Dakota’s phenomenal season a win short of a 2A crown.

“Obviously it could be worse, we could not be here,” Williams said. “There are a lot of teams that are sitting and watching us play right now. We need to be proud of what we’ve done this season. They’ve worked hard, they’ve earned this and we’re proud of everything they’ve done.”